Improved low-water and high-steam indicator



L. F. SMITH, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. Letters Patent No. 84,444, dated November 24, v1868.

IMPROVED LOW-WATER AND HIGH-STEAM INDICATOR The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent' and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, L. F. SMITH, of Philadelphia, in

p the county of Philadelphia, and in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Low-Water and High-Steam Indicator; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and general arrangement of a device connected with the steam-whistle of an engine, to indicate low water and high steam.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which myinvention appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation, in section, and

Figure 2, a side view of the safety-valve, as arranged in my device.

A represents a .steam-tight cylinder, connected, by means of a tube, B, with the steam-boiler. side is indicated by line C. On top ofthe cylinder' A is the usual steam-whistle, I).

Inside of the cylinder A is a smaller cylinder, E, which is, near its top, provided with holes a a, and in its bottom with a plug, F, which can be removed, for the purpose of olea-ning out any dirt or sediment that may settle therein.

The inside cylinder E is suspended, by means of a rod, b, from one end of a lever, G. The other end of this lever is connected, by a rod, c, to one end of another lever, H, which is placed above and parallel to the lever G, both levers being pivoted to bars l I, secured to the inside ofthe cylinder A. The other end ofthe last lever H is connected by a rod, d, to the valve, J, ofthe steam-whistle.

As soon as the water in the steam-boiler C reaches the lower end of the tube B, the outside cylinder, A, iS at once filled, and the water pours in through the holes a a, also filling the inside cylinder, E. When, now, the water in the boiler gets so low, that the outer cylinder A is empty, the inner cylinder E remains full, and the weight thereof operates on the levers G and H, so as to open the .valve J, and the steam, which, ofcourse, has taken the place of the water in the outer cylinder, A, will blow the whistle, indicating at once to the engineer the state ofthe' water in the boiler.

As soon as the water in the boiler rises to the end of the tube B, the outer cylinder A is again at once filled, and the cylinder E, being then balanced by the weight` K on top of the whistle, at once closes the valve J.

The valve J is connected by a shaft, L, to a plug, M, which hangs on a lever, N, said lever having, at one end, the weight K, spokenof as seen in tig. l.

I may dispense lwith the levers Gr and H, and their connections, and suspend the inner cylinder E by a hinged rod, directly from the valve J, if so desired.

On the side of the cylinder A is a box, 0, for the purpose of enclosing the safety-valve P.

A pipe, It, connects the said valve with the steam boiler', and another, S, with the steam-whistle.

The valve proper, c, is provided, on its stem, with a cap, f, of circular shape, the iianges of which t in a circular groove, i, in the valve-seat h. The object of this cap is, that, at the very moment that steam commences, to escape through the valve e, the steam will strike this cap, f, and, having larger surface to operate upon, will at once raise the valve high enough to blow the whistle, thus indicating high steam the very instant it is above the usual mark.

The valve c is pressed down by a Weight, T, hung on a lever, U, this lever connected by a forked bar, V, to another lever, W, which presses on. the valve-stem, both levers being arranged and pivoted to one or more curved bars, extending from the upper side of the valve P, as shown in fig. 2.

By this arrangement, the safety-valve can be confined toa small space, and enclosed in a box, for better protection, 'as shown herein.

Having thus fully described my invention,

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Thecombination of the cylinder A, tube B, and cylinder E, the latter provided with openings a c and suspended, by means of levers G H and rods?) c d, from the valve J .of the steam-whistle D, all substantially as herein set forth.

2. In combination with the valve e, the circular cap j, fitting in the groove 'i on the valve-seat h, substantially as herein set forth.

3. The arrangement of the levers U W, weight T, and rod V, as set forth.

4. The arrangement-of the cylinder A and the inner vessel E, with its perforations a a, with the steamgenerator C and whistle D, all substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand, this 17th day of October, 1868.

Witnesses: L. F. SMITH.

JOHN WHITE, WM. S.- STARKEY. 

